brother Ned, and by degrees, and without pressing upon them too
much; what do you say now, brother?’

Brother Ned gave his hand upon it, and not only said it should
be done, but had it done too; and, in one short week, Nicholas took
possession of the stool, and Mrs Nickleby and Kate took
possession of the house, and all was hope, bustle, and light-
heartedness.

There surely never was such a week of discoveries and
surprises as the first week of that cottage. Every night when
Nicholas came home, something new had been found out. One day
it was a grapevine, and another day it was a boiler, and another
day it was the key of the front-parlour closet at the bottom of the
water-butt, and so on through a hundred items. Then, this room
was embellished with a muslin curtain, and that room was
rendered quite elegant by a window-blind, and such
improvements were made, as no one would have supposed
possible. Then there was Miss La Creevy, who had come out in the
omnibus to stop a day or two and help, and who was perpetually
losing a very small brown-paper parcel of tin tacks and a very
large hammer, and running about with her sleeves tucked up at
the wrists, and falling off pairs of steps and hurting herself very
much--and Mrs Nickleby, who talked incessantly, and did
something now and then, but not often--and Kate, who busied
herself noiselessly everywhere, and was pleased with everything--
and Smike, who made the garden a perfect wonder to look upon--
and Nicholas, who helped and encouraged them every one--all
the peace and cheerfulness of home restored, with such new zest
imparted to every frugal pleasure, and such delight to every hour
of meeting, as misfortune and separation alone could give!